In the face of new reports questioning Facebook's ability to impact ecommerce, the social network gave Inside Facebook some data that may prove otherwise. "For instance, Ticketmaster reports that each
share of one of its events to Facebook earns it $5.30 in direct sales," it writes. The internal and external statistics indicate major increases in traffic, engagement and direct sales for retailers
that have deeply integrated with Facebook.
That said, "It is true that e-commerce on Facebook has been a long-heralded yet slow-to-materialize market segment," Inside Facebook writes.
Yet notes: "Tools to facilitate sales and referrals on Facebook or through Facebook-integrated sites are rapidly proliferating." As a result, as of January 2011, Facebook traffic to Amazon grew 328%
year-over-year while Google referral traffic dropped 2% in the same period, according to a JP Morgan report.
Visitors to retailer American Eagle's ecommerce site that were referred
from Facebook spent 58% more than those referred from elsewhere.
Read the whole story at Inside Facebook »